Girls Only
by Kiara Arisato
Summary: Naoto is forced to go shopping for clothes with the girls. How long can she last before she finally snaps?


Author's Note: Okay, uh... This is the first thing I've ever posted here, haha. Not that I haven't done any writing before – I've actually got a lot of stuff written, just not typed – but it is my first time writing completely from Naoto's POV. I haven't done many Persona 4 'fics yet, but I've got a few ideas in my head.

So, I hope that I don't make the characters too OOC, and I hope that someone finds it in their heart to review. Please enjoy.

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How could I have let this happen? Why must I allow myself to experience such tragedy, such indignity, such... Ugh!

Of all the things Rise-san could have done... Of all the things she could decide to do with me, why, why, _why_ did she have to choose shopping? Just because we're all female...! Ugh, had I been born male, I would never have had this problem... Here I am, detective Naoto Shirogane, walking around random floors of Junes with idol Rise Kujikawa and two insignificant girls from Yasogami High School, Yukiko Amagi and Chie Satonaka.

Thinking about the events leading up to this point just makes my stomach turn...

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I was simply sitting in the living room one morning, preparing myself for one of my daily walks around town. My grampa had left town a few days before to work on some case, so I was alone. Of course, I don't mind being left alone, seeing as I've been a bit of a loner most of my life. Well, ever since I moved to Inaba a year ago, I've come out of my shell a little, but my friends consist of a closely-knit group of teenage outcasts. That would be Souji Seta, the quiet transfer student who regrettably left Inaba recently; Yosuke Hanamura, the infamous son of Junes's manager; Chie Satonaka, martial arts fanatic; Yukiko Amagi, the daughter of the Amagi Inn's managers and the odd girl who has constant giggle fits; Teddie, an odd being from another world that likes to "score with the ladies" (such an odd being he is...); Kanji Tatsumi, the one who beats on biker gangs in his spare time and loves to sew (I believe he also had a grudge against me or something at first); Rise Kujikawa, the idol that was on hiatus for a while; and myself, the young detective prince who once pretended to be male in order to be needed. As I said, we are all outcasts, especially since many of us have few friends outside of our circle. I would never verbally admit to this, of course.

As I was about to exit my home, my cell phone rang. Upon looking at the screen, I realized that the caller was Rise Kujikawa. I shuddered, fearing one of her lengthy phone calls that often consist of her babbling on and on about things that hardly concern me... She is a kind person, and of our group she is one of the closest to me, but there are times when I really wish she would just shut her mouth.

I took a deep breath before answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Naoto-kun! Chie-senpai, Yukiko-senpai, and I are kinda bored, so we wanted to know if you could hang out with us!" She sounded rather excited.

I... Honestly couldn't refuse. She would start sobbing, I would get flashbacks to my Shadow, all hell would break loose... It was just too much effort to say no. "Alright, I-"

"Great! Meet us at the Junes food court as soon as you can! Buh-bye!" Rise-san hung up as soon as she finished speaking.

I sighed and readied myself for a long, harrowing day. One of these days, they're going to kill me. I headed over to Junes and made my way to the food court, where the girls were waiting for me. Rise looked overly enthusiastic about the upcoming ordeal as she waved for me, calling my name.

I sighed and walked over to them. "Alright, what are we-"

Rise cut me off, as usual. "Alright, you're finally here! Okay, first we're gonna go look through swimsuits- Ooh, or maybe-"

"No." It was my turn to cut her off. There was no way I was looking through and trying on swimsuits. Not a chance in hell.

"Yes." Rise gave me "that look", meaning that if I refused there would be consequences. "We're shopping for clothes, and you're coming with us. It'll be a _fun_ girls-only trip!"

Oh no... They were all giving me "that look"... That horrible, awful look that they always got when I tried to defy them... They were like a pack of wolves, picking on the smallest among them and attacking. Alright, calculating the distance from here to the road, I believe that if I jumped...

Chie growled. "You're not going anywhere. After bailing out on us at the pageant, you've gotta pay."

No... No, no, no! She mentioned it!

"Yeah! We went through all that, and you ran away!" Even Yukiko, the quiet one who always seemed to act so kind all the time...

I made a break for the stairs, rushing down as fast as I could, but Chie managed to catch up to me and grab my arm. I forgot how much training she did with her legs.

"Oh no you don't! You're coming with us!"

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So, there I was, walking through Junes with three other girls. I looked down, pulling the rim of my hat down over my eyes. This was all so embarrassing... And they all made sure to show me only the skimpiest of clothing, adding to my embarrassment. Why did I have to answer that phone call...?

Rise-san ran in some direction with an excited squeal, and Chie-senpai forced me to follow. Yukiko-senpai followed behind us. I was so very nervous at that point... I really didn't want to know what Rise-san was looking at.

"Ooooooh, Naoto-kun would look great in this!" Rise-san held up a deep purple sleeveless dress. It was low-cut and short, clearly the kind of dress that is meant to show as much skin as possible.

I could feel my cheeks get hot as she held it up to me, trying to determine an appropriate size. "R-Rise-san, uh... I-"

"Hey Chie-senpai, don't you think Naoto-kun would look great in this?" Rise-san grinned, completely ignoring me.

"Sure, let's have her try it on!" Chie-senpai grinned.

"Chie-senpai--?! N-No, I'm not trying that on!" I tried to pull my arm from Chie-senpai's grip, but she was too strong for me.

"Yes, you are." Rise gave me that look again.

Something in my mind snapped. I grew quiet, angrier than those three girls had ever seen me. Sure, Yosuke had often teased me before then, making me relatively angry, but this time I was _furious_. The fire disappeared from my cheeks and went to my eyes instead as I adopted a look of rage, effectively surprising Rise-san and my two Senpai.

"N-Naoto-kun...?" Rise asked tentatively, slowly putting the dress back. "Uh..."

I growled. "You three are getting on my last nerve..." I broke free of Chie-senpai's grip and began pacing back and forth, sharply lecturing them all. "I have never forced any of you to do anything for me. I treated you kindly, _patiently_; with _all_ of the _respect_ I could possibly give you. _Never_ have I intentionally hurt you; _never_ have I forced you to do anything, and yet what do I get in _return_? Three girls, constantly ganging up on me and _forcing_ me to do everything they say!" At that point, I felt more than just the three people I was ranting at staring at me, but I can't honestly say I cared. "You are acting as _cowards_, ganging up on the _smallest_ person you can get your hands on and doing what you want! And for _what_?! You three amount to _children_ kicking around a small _cat_ because it's too small and defenseless to do anything about it!"

At that, I turned around and headed for the stairs. The others were far too stunned to come after me. After all, _quiet and reserved_ Naoto just blew up at them. They had done such things to me many times, starting with forcing me into a beauty pageant the year before. They had forced me on shopping trips, forced me to help them with things, forced me to embarrass myself... I was still boiling when I exited Junes and headed for the hill overlooking town, where I sat on a bench and watched Inaba. Coming to that spot always managed to calm my nerves.

It was odd that the place where I was once in my most nervous state would also be the place that would calm me down in the future. After all, this was the place where I first told Souji-senpai how I felt about him... I couldn't help but smile at the memory. I was so uptight then...

I heard footsteps coming closer. Turning, I saw Rise-san walking over, looking rather apologetic. I kept my face emotionless as the redhead approached me.

"Um, Naoto-kun..." Rise-san actually looked rather nervous for once. She walked over and sat next to me, a gesture I didn't object to, but I wasn't quite happy with it either.

The silence grew heavy as I simply stared ahead, not bothering to look at Rise-san, who simply sat there, looking at her hands. A gentle breeze blew quietly, alleviating the slight heat that had already begun sweeping over Inaba. Rise-san bit her lip.

"N-Naoto-kun..." Rise-san broke the silence. "Um... I'm sorry about what happened... We had no idea you felt that way..."

I chose to remain silent, causing Rise-san to shift uncomfortably. She bit her lip again. "C-Can you... Forgive us? I mean... I can't say we haven't done a lot to you, but..." She trailed off.

I looked over at her calmly. "You know... Despite how I may have acted earlier, I am not completely heartless." I allowed a hint of amusement to seep into my voice with that statement. "Just don't let it happen again."

Rise-san sighed with relief, smiling. "Haha... You know, you scared us for a minute there. We thought you were gonna hate us forever."

I couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Rise-san, I may overreact occasionally, but I don't believe I'm capable of hating any of you..."

At that point, I saw Chie-senpai and Yukiko-senpai come into view, climbing the hill towards Rise-san and me. Rise-san waved at them, smiling, and I watched calmly as they walked over to us.

Before my senpai could say anything, I spoke up. "In case you hadn't inferred such already, I do forgive you for what happened."

The other two girls showed visible signs of relief. "I thought you hated us!" Chie-senpai sighed.

"As I told Rise-san, I am incapable of hating any of you." I stood and walked over to the fence, leaning on it and looking over at the town. The other three girls came to join me. Everything was enveloped in a warm, orange glow as the sun set over the town of Inaba, slowly closing another beautiful day.

"Hey..." All eyes turned on Yukiko-senpai as she spoke, still gazing at the peaceful town. "Is it just me, or is the sunset just a little more beautiful today?"

I smiled and looked back at Inaba. "Yes..."

Everyone's gazes swept back to the peaceful town of Inaba. The sun set ever so slowly, allowing the blanket of night to fall over the land and closing a special day that brought four friends just a little closer together.

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Just as a final author's note... YAY STUPID CLICHE ENDING.


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